Social capital and organisational commitment at higher education institutions

This study compares the extent of the influence of non-tangible forms of social capital on organisational commitment at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), in Penang, Malaysia and two universities in Sumatra, Indonesia, which are, Universitas Andalas and Padang State University. In this study, Universitas Andalas and Padang State University will be represented by APU. Amongst the academic staff at USM, three social capital factors-collective action and shared values, relational trust and cooperation, and cohesive bonds and connectivity through participation-have a strong positive impact on affective and normative commitments. At APU, only the factor of cohesive bonds and connectivity contributes to affective commitment. Collective action and shared values as well as cohesive bonds and connectivity were shown to have contributed to higher normative commitment. Relational trust and cooperation, which are important indicators of social capital, did not seem to have any impact on the three organisational commitments. At USM, continuance commitment was negatively related to cohesive bonds and was not related to any other predictive variables. At APU, higher collective action and shared values reduced continuance commitment.

Shattering the Shia: a Maliki political strategy in post-Saddam Iraq

This chapter argues that one key legacy of the US effort to bring democracy to Iraq has been that many elements within Iraq’s Shia Arab political elite have viewed democracy through the lens of a cynical majoritarianism and manipulated it to catapult themselves to power. This has had a further legacy, enabling the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to utilise his incumbency to maintain the veneer of democracy while becoming increasingly dictatorial and authoritarian. In doing so, Maliki’s government shares much in common with other ‘hybrid regimes’ in which governments hijack nominally democratic mechanisms such as elections, media freedoms, political opposition and civil society as part of their strategy to retain, rather than diffuse, power (Dodge 2012b, 2013). Although Maliki hasdeployed a host of different strategies along these lines – including blatant sectarianism, undermining key state institutions, the creation of a shadow state loyal to himself, and the concentration of military and political power in his own hands – this chapter focuses on Maliki’s less well-known efforts to shatter the unity of his Shia Arab political opponents. It focuses on his first two terms in power and examines the ways in which he has been able to systematically fracture the Shia political elite to such an extent that once tenuously united factions now stand bitterly divided. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the reasoning behind such an approach and the prospects of Iraq’s democracy moving beyond the blatant power grab of the incumbent Malikigovernment.

International students in transnational mobility: intercultural connectedness with domestic and international peers, institutions and the wider community

International students’ connectedness with their peers, institutions and the broader community significantly affects their learning and wellbeing. It is important to understand their multiple desires for intercultural connectedness in order to nurture it. This paper analyses the motives and nature of international students’ intercultural connectedness. It is based on a study that includes more than 150 interviews and fieldwork with international students and staff from 25 vocational education colleges in Australia. Drawing on Blumer’s symbolic interactionism theory as a conceptual framework, the study found international students’ motivation to engage in intercultural connectedness is linked to not only their desire for respect and recognition for intellectual, cultural and linguistic capacities and diversities but also for employment aspirations. The research shows various dimensions in which intercultural engagement is seen to encompass not only empathy, sociability and equity but also employability. The findings suggest meaningful interaction is essentially bound to reciprocal learning.